The website of the National
Maritime Museum describes the house flag of "the house flag of the British
and Irish Steam Packet Co. Ltd, Dublin. On a white field, there is a red cross
with a green border. The flag is made of nylon fabric, with a cotton hoist and
is machine sewn. It has a rope and toggle attached.

Started in 1836, the British and Irish Steam Packet Co. Ltd was a Dublin based
company running services to London via Falmouth and Plymouth. It merged with
Coast Lines in 1938 and was taken over by the Irish Government in 1965."Jarig Bakker, 6 August 2004

Some sources show the green a lot narrower but this seems to be the generally
accepted version.Neale Rosanoski, 17 June 2004

image
by Rob Raeside

Around 1967 a blue
flag with a white Gaelic "e" was produced in line
with a funnel change but it was never actually used as a houseflag although it
was used briefly by the "Leinster" as a stem jack [Loughran (1979)]. In the late
1980s the name changed to B&I Line plc and then in the latter 1990s it became
part of the Irish Continental Group having been owned by the Irish Government
since 1966.Neale Rosanoski, 22 March 2004

The website of the National
Maritime Museum describes the house flag of "the house flag of Guinness Co.,
Dublin. A red swallow-tailed burgee with a black 'G' in the centre. The flag is
made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine
sewn."Jarig Bakker, 14 August 2004

From the flagchart "Vlaggen in de haven van Amsterdam" (flags in the harbour
of Amsterdam), no date: the Holland Ireland Line (Palgrave, Murphy (S) Ltd., -
ship
City of Waterford.
Horizontal triband of red-white-red with on white P.M.(S) LTD.
More on
http://www.irishships.com/palgrave.htm.Jarig Bakker, 5 July 2004

Irish Ferries. Formed in 1973 as the Irish Continental Line Ltd. with a
service between Rosslare and Le Havre with the original flag combining emblems
of the two countries being white with a red saltire surmounted by a black and
white fleur-de-lis.

image by Rob Raeside

In 1978 the Irish connection was stressed by the adoption of a green
flag bearing a white shamrock. In 1988 the name was
changed to the Irish Continental Group plc and at some stage the flag shown here
was adopted.Neale Rosanoski, 17 June 2003

The website of the National
Maritime Museum describes the house flag of the Irish Shipping Ltd, Dublin.
A white rectangular flag with a red St Patrick's saltire. The arms of the four
Irish provinces Leinster, Connacht, Ulster and Munster, are placed in the
quarters. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a
cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The four shields are printed on cotton
appliqués. A rope and toggle is attached.

The shipping company was established in the early 1940s with the Irish
government as a major shareholder. It was the first Irish flag operator of deep
sea vessels. Initially, the house flag had the company initials in the quarters,
but these were replaced with the arms of the four provinces in 1947."Jarig Bakker, 17 August 2004